Chemical Properties
White to Off-White Solid
Definition
ChEBI: A member of the class of triazoles, deferasirox is 1,2,4-triazole substituted by a 4-carboxyphenyl group at position 1 and by 2-hydroxyphenyl groups at positions 3 and 5. An orally active iron chelator, it is used to manage chronic iron overload in patient
receiving long-term blood transfusions.
Description
Linagliptin was originally discovered at Boehringer Ingelheim as
an orally active dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-4) inhibitor. Eli Lilly
and Boehringer Ingelheim co-developed and launched linagliptin
for type II diabetes as an adjunct to diet and exercise for the
improvement of adult glycemic control. Linagliptin has a superior
DPP-4 IC50 value of 1 nM, compared with 19 nM for sitagliptin,
24 nM for alogliptin, 50 nM for saxagliptin and 62 nM for vildagliptin. In addition, linagliptin exhibited prolonged pharmacodynamic
activity with long-lasting DPP-4 inhibition in several
preclinical species. Linagliptin showed good efficacy in phase II
clinical trials with doses as low as 5 mg and no signs of hypoglycemia
with doses as high as 600 mg. The prolonged pharmacological
effect of DPP-4 activity and the good safety/tolerability profile
provided the basis for linagliptin’s approval.
Originator
Novartis (Switzerland)
Brand name
Exjade (Novartis).
Clinical Use
Treatment of iron overload
Synthesis
Synthesis of deferasirox started with cyclization of salicylamide (26) with salicyloyl
chloride (27) by heating at 170 C without any solvents to
give 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-benz[e]oxazin-4-one (28) in
55% yield. Compound 28 was reacted with 4-hydrazinobenzoic
acid (29) in refluxing ethanol for 2 hours to give
deferasirox V as colorless crystals.
Drug interactions
Potentially hazardous interactions with other drugs
Aluminium-containing antacids: avoid concomitant
use.
Aminophylline and theophylline: concentration of
aminophylline and theophylline increased, consider
reducing aminophylline and theophylline dose.
Other nephrotoxic agents: avoid concomitant
therapy
Metabolism
Metabolism of deferasirox is mainly glucuronidation by
uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT)
enzymes. Cytochrome P450 isoenzyme-mediated
metabolism appears to be minor. Deconjugation of
the glucuronidates in the intestine and subsequent
enterohepatic recycling are likely to occur.
It is excreted mainly in the faeces via bile, as metabolites
and as unchanged drug. About 8% of a dose is excreted in
the urine.
References
Heinz et al. (1999), 4-[3,5-Bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-benzoic acid: A Novel Efficient and Selective Iron(III) Complexing Agent; Ang. Chem. Int. Ed., 38 2568
Palumbo et al. (2021), From Biology to Clinical Practice: Iron Chelation Therapy With Deferasirox; Front. Oncol., 11 752192
Roatsch et al. (2019), The Clinically Used Iron Chelator Deferasirox Is an Inhibitor of Epigenetic JumonjiC Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases; ACS Chem. Biol., 14 1737
Lui et al. (2015), Targeting cancer by binding iron: Dissecting cellular signaling pathways; Oncotarget, 6 18748
Ibrahim and O’Sullivan (2020), Iron chelators in cancer therapy; Biometals, 33 201
Szymonik et al. (2021), The Impact of Iron Chelators on the Biology of Cancer Stem Cells; Int. J. Mol. Sci., 23 89